BERKELEY – California rugby is slated to host California Polytechnic State University in the first round of the 2023 D1A National Collegiate Championships on Saturday at Witter Rugby Field. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. PT with the gates in Strawberry Canyon to open at noon. Fans can purchase their tickets for the match here, or watch the live stream.
 
The Golden Bears, who hold the No. 3 seed in the West Region, will meet the sixth-seeded Mustangs for the first time this season. The two teams last met for 15-a-side competition at the 2022 Dennis Storer Classic in Los Angeles when the Bears outscored the Mustangs 33-3. The last time Cal Poly visited Berkeley was in February 2019 when the Bears downed the Mustangs 138-5. More recently, the two programs met for sevens play at the West Coast Collegiate 7s tournament hosted by Cal Poly in October 2022. Cal took a 24-7 victory on their way to winning the tournament title, the first of three that the Bears collected during their fall sevens campaign.
 
Cal enters the postseason with a 10-3 overall record, coming off a tough month of matchups against some of the nation's most competitive programs. This weekend, the Bears will field 14 different players from their last outing at BYU on March 31.
 
Senior Max Schumacher will lead Cal into the playoffs as the team captain while his co-captain Nathan Zylstra remains out with injury. Schumacher was recently named a nominee for the 2023 Rudy Scholz Award, which is presented to the best men's collegiate rugby player nationwide each year. He is among 15 nominees who will be narrowed down to four finalists by a public vote, which is accepting ballots through Sunday.
 
Schumacher will be joined by fellow senior Max Clark who made his return from injury a couple of weeks ago to rejoin the Bears' starting backline. Freshmen duo Rand Santos and Max Threlkeld will also make their seventh appearance as the starting center pairing. Threlkeld is Cal's leading try scorer with nine tallied since arriving on campus this January.
 
In the forward pack, the front row will feature junior props Emilio Shea and Charlie Walsh. This will be the fifth time the pair have played the No. 1 and 3 position in the Bears' first 15 this season. Junior lock Tom Dixon also returns as the No. 5 to make his 12th start in the second row, the most starting appearances of any player on the roster this season.
 
Senior Alex Aguero will rejoin the Bears' starting lineup wearing the No. 8 shirt. Aguero is the leading points-scorer among the Cal forwards, logging six tries for 30 total points in XVs play.
 
Cal Poly brings an 11-2 record in spring XVs competition to Strawberry Canyon. The Mustangs began their season with three wins at the Dennis Storer Classic. More recently, Cal Poly took a road win over East Region No. 6 seed Texas A&M, handing the Aggies a 36-13 final score on March 28. Their two losses came at the hands of UCLA (36-27) on March 25 and Saint Mary's (85-7) on January 21.
 
STAY POSTED 
For complete coverage of Cal rugby, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalVarsityRugby), Instagram (@CalVarsityRugby) and Facebook (/CalVarsityRugby).